The Dipsea Race Foundation is a charitable non-profit (501(c)
3) corporation whose mission is to "foster national amateur sports
competition by sponsoring, maintaining and perpetuating, through charitable
contributions and endowments, the Dipsea Race, the Dipsea Trail, the Dipsea Hall
of Fame, and educational scholarships."

It was
established in 1997 to protect and promote the race and the values it
represents. After a century of existence, the race has become an essential part
of the community and cross-country running; the Foundation was created to
preserve the race for future generations.

The Dipsea Race Foundation has three main goals:

To preserve the race and the trail for current
and future generations,

To support the entities and organizations that
control the property over which the trail winds, and

To encourage boys and girls from all backgrounds
to appreciate and protect the Dipsea and other trails on Mount Tam.

To meet those
goals, the Dipsea Race Foundation currently:

Helps to pay for trail maintenance and
improvement,

Contributes to organizations that facilitate
running of the race, such as the Mill Valley Parks and Recreation
Department, the Stinson Beach Community Center, and the MT. Tamalpais State
Park, and

Confers college scholarships to graduating young
men and women who have been active in the race as runners or volunteers.

You may contact the Dipsea Race Foundation at: dipseafoundation@gmail.com

Sausalito Winterfest Run

The Dipsea Race Foundation is partnering with the Sausalito Waterfront Foundation to sponsor the inaugural Sausalito Winterfest Run, a family-friendly celebration featuring 8K and 5K races and a Kidz Fun Run on a panoramic course for a primo cause on Sunday morning, December 14. Proceeds from the event will benefit at-risk youth through the Dipsea Kidz program. Entry fee for the Winterfest Run is $40 for adults and $25 for children 16 & under for the 8K and 5K races and $5 for children 7 & under for the Kidz Fun Run. Runners will receive a free T-shirt and water bottle. Kidz Run finishers will all receive a medal. Checks can be made payable to and mailed to the Dipsea Race Foundation, P.O. Box 10 in Mill Valley, CA 94942. Or register online at SausalitoWinterfest.com. Competitors and children who register and pay entry fee before December 1 will receive free admission a post-race pancake breakfast from 9 a.m. to noon. Races will start and finish at the Spinnaker Restaurant on the waterfront. The 8K race begins at 8 a.m. followed by the 5K race at 8:05 a.m. on a flat downtown course that will feature magnificent views of Mt. Tamalpais, Angel Island, San Francisco Bay and the San Francisco city skyline. The Kidz Fun Run, which is one kilometer, will start at 8:15 a.m.

Congratualtions to Barbara Robben - The Newest Member of the Dipsea Hall of Fame

Barbara has been a key figure in our Dipsea community in many ways for many years. She is a true inspiration. See the article in the Marin Independant Journal here. Congratulations Barbara!

2014 Dipsea Scholarship Winners Announced

Every young man and woman who submitted an application this year is deserving of one of our scholarships. We wish we could award one to each of these college bound students, but we can only give four. This year's winners are:

Bella Levaggi

Madelynn Perry

Mae Puckett

Heather Stickle

Congratulations to all!

For more on how scholarship winners are chosen and to view
a list of past winners see our scholarship
page.

Dipsea Race Foundation to Begin Consulting with Harvard Business School Community Partners

The Dipsea Race Foundation is pleased to announce that we have been chosen by Harvard Business School (HBS) Community Partners of Northern California for a pro bono consulting project, beginning in February.

"For over 100 years, the Dipsea Race has offered an inspiring annual event requiring significant training and passion from its 1,500 trail race competitors and hundreds of volunteers. This HBS Community Partners engagement will help the Dipsea Race Foundation better prepare to raise a significant Endowment to ensure the Dipsea legacy and do even more good for the community during its second century," said Mervyn Regan, senior director of the Dipsea Race Foundation.

"We’re thrilled to work with the Dipsea organization and to bring the skills of our alumni volunteers to help this organization achieve their mission to leverage the Dipsea's history to make positive social, educational and athletic impact in the community during its second century," per Nancy Huang, Executive Director of HBS Community Partners.

Dipsea Kidz: One of The Dipsea Foundations proudest accomplishments is our Dipsea Kidz program. It provides opportunity, guidance, training, and mentoring to kids from diverse backgrounds. We'll have a detailed section covering everything Dipsea Kidz on this website shortly. In the meantime, you can read about the program here.

Thank you to Dipsea Capital for helping to sponsor our Dipsea Kidz program.

The 103rd Running of The Dipsea is in the books. Congratulations to Diana Fitzpatrick on her first win! Thanks to Paul Berensmeier for this wonderful video of the first 250 finishers plus the first 2 finishers in the Runners category.

Sam's Fountain of Youth Update: Thanks to the generosity of the running community, lovers of Mt. Tam, the family and friends of Sam Hirabayashi and his widow, Eve Pell, full funding has come in for Sam's Fountain. The Dipsea Race Foundation and the Dipsea Race Committee are grateful to all those who worked so hard to make it possible. The fountain is complete, so next time you are at Cardiac have a drink and remember Sam.

This project not only commemorates Sam's life but benefits thousands of Dipsea runners and hikers who pass this beautiful spot year-round.

Tony Stratta, Longtime Dipsea Runner Passes Away

Tony Stratta died on March 29, 2013 at the age of 82. Tony ran in 59 Dipsea races, finishing 4th in 1950. He finished his last Dipsea in 2006. He and his father, Dominic, won the family trophy an unprecedented five times. Between them the father-son team spanned 82 years of racing the Dipsea. Tony was a close friend of Jack Kirk, the Dipsea Demon. Click here for more on Tony's life.

The Dipsea Movie Documentary

A crowd of more than 300 very enthusiastic people packed The Sports Basement to see Sam Lueck's movie - and they loved it! The film was beautifully produced - weaving Dipsea characters like the guy with the music at the bottom of the second flight of stairs, into a perfectly suspenseful unveiling of the duel between the elder, the youngster, and the fastest runners coming from behind that was the 100th running of our race. Sam punctuated the drama with captivating scenes of Dipsea lovers explaining their passion.Thanks to everyone who attended - and, thanks to The Sports Basement for providing the venue and food and drink for all. And especially, thanks to Sam for generously donating all proceeds to the Dipsea Foundation! Sam hopes to do another screening in Marin so if you missed this one you may be able to catch it next time around.

Dipsea Steps Reconstruction - First Flight Complete!

Reconstruction of the first flight of the historic Dipsea Steps is complete. The steps have been restored to match the third flight project completed in 2007. The steps are concrete with bronze plaques embedded in the risers. The landings are cobbled and a wooden railing runs along one side. The renowned upper stone steps have been left intact with curved metal railings added on both sides.

Have you had a chance to see them? Did you sponsor a step? (Thank you very much if you did.) How do the new plaques look? What do they say? Are there Dipsea secrets hidden between the lines? Do go have a look if you get the chance - it really is beautiful out there. Here are the new steps and all the plaques - every one - bottom to top.

A
Dipsea Race Foundation scholarship fund has been established in the name of
Bill Patterson. The fund is perpetual. The first scholarship in the amount of
$5000 was awarded at the 2012 Dipsea Race Foundation dinner.

William
J. Patterson was
a prominent San Francisco investor and philanthropist who led the effort to
revitalize the California Academy of Sciences.
He was a great lover of the Dipsea.

Reilly
Johnson,
an elementary school student from Mill Valley won the historic 100th
running of the Dipsea
race in 2010 as an 8-year-old. Her championship plaque was unveiled at a
ceremony held on the famed Dipsea Steps on April 23, 2011.

The bronze plaque, made by Bronze Plus in Sebastopol, was installed on the
third and final flight of Dipsea stairs off Edgewood Avenue in Mill Valley.
There are now 688 steps from bottom to top.

Merv Regan, longtime chairman of the Dipsea Race Board of Directors, and
President of the Dipsea Race Foundation, attended the ceremony. Hal and Wendy Johnson, Reilly's parents, were also present.

With a 25-minute head start in the time-handicapped race based on age and
gender, Reilly led from the start in downtown Mill Valley to the finish line at
Stinson Beach last year to outlast 68-year-old grandmother and three-time Dipsea
champion Melody-Ann Schultz of Ross to become the youngest winner ever in the
7.5-mile trail race. The 52-inch, 62-pound, pigtailed fourth grader won the race
in an actual race time of 1:12.31, just seven seconds faster than Schultz.

Johnson, who finished 199th in the 2009 Dipsea, ran 15 minutes faster when she won in 2010. In her first Dipsea in 2008 at the age of six, Johnson became the youngest
Dipsea runner to qualify for the Invitational Section as her father, Hal,
sacrificed his own Invitational status to run with her and help shepherd her
over the course.